Welt-shoe-sewing machine.



A. F. LITTLEFIELD. w n SHOE sswme MACHINF- APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24. 1916.

1,243,195. Pamnted 0cth16,'1917.

2 BEETS-SHEET A. F. U ITLEFIELD. WELT SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPUCATION HLED NOV. 24. 19KB.

1,243,195. Patented 001;. 16, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTINE 1!. LITTLEIIELD, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF P ATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anons'rmn F. LITTLE- rmLo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Welt Shoe-Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apkpertains to make and use the same.

T e invention relates to welt slashing mechanism for welt sewing machines.

In doing certain classes of work it is desirahle that a series of transverse cuts or slashes be formed in. the under side of the welt while sewing about the toe of the shoe. Welt slashing attachments for accomplishing this result have heretofore been so constructed that the length of time the slashing mechanism remains in action, and conseuently the number of slashes formed about t e toe of each shoe, depends upon the skill and careful attention of the operator, who throws the slashing mechanism into action on reaching the toe and out of action after the too is past.

It is the object of the presentinvention to provide a novel and improved welt slashing mechanism which will operate to uniformly slash each welt without the skill and careful attention heretofore required for securing approximate uniformity in the number of slashes formed in the welts of different shoes.

To this end the invention contemplates the provision in a welt sewing machine of-a welt slashing mechanism which, when thrown into operation by the operator or otherwise,

will form a predetermined number of slashes in the welt, and then cease to act during the continuation of the sewing and until again thrown into operation. It is preferred to so construct the mechanism that it may be thrown into operation by the operator, and may be automatically thrown out of operation after a predetermined -number 0 cycles.

The invention will be readily un rstood from an inspection of the accom 'nying drawings and the following detailed de-. scription of the mechanism illustrated therein.

'2 is a similar elevation on an enlarged scale,

slashing mechanism is thrown into operation.

In the drawings the invention is shown embodied in a welt sewing machine having the same general construction and mode of operation as the machine shown and described in Patent No. 1,108,560, dated August 25,1914. This machine is provided with a curved hook needle 2, a thread finger a looper (5, a takeup 8, a work support 10, a channel guide 12, and an awl 14, which are constructed, arranged and operated as fully-described in said patent. The machine is also provided with a welt guide- 16 carried on a swinging arm 18, and advanced and retracted at proper intervals by a reciprocating slide 20 which is connected with the welt guide by a link 22.

The means for slashing the Welt comprises a knife blade 24 formed on the forward end of a knife bar 26 which is arranged to reciprocate in a guideway formed. in the back gage plate 28 of the welt guide. The rear end of the knife bar is connectedto a slide plate 30 mounted to reciprocate in guideways formed in a rearward extension 32 of the welt guide. The plate is recip'rocated through a lever 34 pivoted at 36 to the frame of the machine, and provided at its upper end with a curved slot 38 engaging a roll 40 on the rear side of the slide plate. The slot 38 is concentric with the pivotal support for the welt carrying arm 18, so that the position of the knife bar 26 is unaffected by the swinging movements of the welt guide. The lever 34 and connected knife bar are held nprmally in retracted position with the stop screw 42 in engagement with the frame by a spring 44 which acts on the lower end of the lever. When the welt is to be slashed, the lever 34 is actuated during each cycle of the machine to advance the knife bar 26 and slash the Welt. The means for this actuating the lever and knife bar comprises a latch lever 46 pivoted on the lever 34, and so arranged that its rear end In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side c may be brought into the path of a shoulder tion showing so much of a welt sewing ma- 48 formed on a block 50 which is secured chine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the present invention thereto; Fig.

to the reci rocating welt guide slide 20.-

The late lever is normally disconnected from the shoulder 48 so that the slashing mechanism remains inactive. The lever may be moved into the path of the shoulder by the operator, however, to throw the slashing mechanism into operation, through a knee lever 52 which is connected b a link 54 with one arm of a bell crank ever 56, the other arm of which is connected by a link 58 with the forward end of the latch lever 46. A spring 60 is interposed between the knee lever 52 and a collar on the end of the link 54, and forms a connection which may yield in case the lever is operated while tllB'gblOCli 58 is in such position that the latch lever will strike on the lower edge of" theblock. A spring 62 is connected to the knee lever, and acts to normall hold the latch lever 46 out of the path 0 the shoulder 48.

When the slashing mechanism is thrown into operation by the operator, it is. retained in actlon without further attention until the machine has completed a predetermined number of cycles. after which its operation is automatically discontinued, so that a redetermined number of cuts or slashes wi, lbe formed in the welt whenever the slashing mechanism is thrown into operation, without any cancer attention on the art of the operator except to throw the slas in mechanism into operation when he reac es the point in the sewing where the slashing should begin. In the construction shown, the means for retaining the slashing mechanism in operation, and for automatically discontinuing its operation, comprises means for latching the latch lever 46 in active position, and a timing mechanism for disengaging the said latching means. As shown, the latching means com rises a latch bar 64 connected through a ell crank lever 66 and link 68 with the latch lever 46, and provided with a shoulder 70 arranged to be engaged by a spring-pressed latch pin 72. The latch bar 64 is pressed yieldingly toward the latch pin by a leaf spring 74 which supports the free end of the ar. When the latch lever 46 is swung' into active positionby the operator, the latch bar 64' is moved toward the right in Fig. 2 into position to be engaged and held by the latch pin 72, so that the slashing mechanism wil be retained in action until the latch pin is operated to release the latch bar. The mechanism for releasing the latch pin comprises a timing ratchet wheel 76 provided with pins 78 arranged to engage the upper end of a slide bar 80, the lower end of which is connectedto one end of a lever 82, the other end of which is slotted to engage a in 84 projectin from the latch pin 72. he ratc et whee 76 is advanced one tooth during each cycle of the machine by a pawl 86 carried on a lever 88, the upper end of which is arranged to be engagcd by a projection 90 on the lower end of the lever 34. The pawl carrying lever is held in enga ment with the lower end of the lever 34: y aleaf spring 92, and backward movement of the ratchet wheel is prevented by a stop awl 94.

When the slas ing mechanism is thrown into operation the pawl 86 will be actuated by the lever 34 each time the lever is advanced to slash the welt, and will advance the timing ratchet wheel one tooth. After the ratchet wheel has been, advanced a predetermined number of teeth, dependent upon the arrangement of the timing pins on the wheel, one of the timing pins 78 will enga e the end of the slide bar 80 and depress t e an, in the latch bar 64 and atch lever 46, so that the latch lever will be moved into inactive position, thus discontinuing the operation of the slashing mechanism. The number of slashes made each time the slashing mechanism is thrown into operation may be varied by changing the timing wheels, or by varying the spacing of the timing pins on the wheel.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, it wil be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential" to the broader features of the invention, and may be varied or modified as found desirable or best suited to the construction of the machine in which the invention is to be embodied.

Having explained the nature and ob'ect thus raising the latch in 72 and releas-- of the inventionhand specifically descri ed one form of mec anism in which it may be embodied, what is claimed is 1. A welt shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanism, and mechanism for cutting a predetermined numher-of slashes in the welt during the sewing.

welt shoe sewing machine, having, 1n comb ation, stitch forming mechanism, and welt slashing mechanism 0 crating to make onl a redetermined num er of cuts in the we t w en thrown into operation.

3. A welt shoe sewin machine, having, in combination, stitch orming 'mechamsm, welt slashin mechanism, means under the control of t e o erator for throwing the welt slashin mec anism into 0 eration, and mechanism or automatically iscontinuing the operation of said slashin mechanism.

4. A welt shoe scwin mac ine, having, in combination, stitch orming mechamsm, welt slashing mechanism, means under control of the operator for throwing the welt slashing mechanism into and retaining it in operation, and timing mechanism rendered actlve in throwing in the slashing mechanism for automatically discontinuing the operation of the slashing mechanism.

5. welt shoepewingomachine, having, in comb nation, 'stltch' rming mechanism,

Welt slashing mechanism, means under control of the operator for throwing the welt slashing mechanism into operation, latching means for retaining it in operation, and a timing mechanism for automatically disengaging said latching mechanism.

6. A Welt shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming mechanism, a welt slashing knife, actuating mechanism adapted to be thrown into operation by the 10 operator for advancing and retracting the knife during each cycle of the machine, latching means for retaining the actuating mechanism in action, and a timing mechanism operated through the knife actuating 1: mechanism for disengaging the latching means.

AUGUSTINE F. LITTLEFIELD. 

